Gazprom indicated on 13 February that is has no intention of giving up
its export monopoly despite recent French and other Western pressure
and a statement by Russian Finance Minister Aleksei Kudrin that
independent providers will be able to use some pipelines in the future,
"The Moscow Times" reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 9, 10, and 13
February 2006). Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov told the
Moscow-based daily that sharing pipeline capacity "is not part of our
plans." He declined to comment on French calls for Russia to ratify the
Energy Charter Treaty, which Moscow has signed. The newspaper suggested
that Kudrin's remarks were simply "polite diplomacy" and that Gazprom
is too central to President Vladimir Putin's overall power strategy for
its monopoly to be broken up. In related news, German Finance Minister
Peer Steinbrueck told German television on 12 February that he has "no
doubt about the reliability of Gazprom, or of Russia in general, as a
supplier of energy to Western Europe." PM

Vagit Alekperov, who heads Russia's LUKoil company, said in Moscow
after meeting with President Putin on 13 February that his company has
big expansion plans in the United States and Europe, RIA Novosti
reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 December 2005). "LUKoil has about
2,000 gasoline stations working in the U.S. and about 600 in Western
and Eastern Europe. These are good assets, which bring decent
revenues," he said. Alekperov noted that LUKoil has been particularly
assertive in investing in oil refineries in Europe. "The Foreign
Ministry has been extremely helpful, lobbying [for] our interests
[abroad]," he added. Alekperov argued that Putin's upcoming visit to
Hungary, where the company owns a chain of gasoline stations and sells
oil products, will also help LUKoil. Putin said that LUKoil's
activities benefit both the Russian and neighboring economies. PM

Andrei Denisov, who is Russia's ambassador to the UN, told "Izvestiya"
of 14 February that an unnamed West European colleague said to him that
"[President] Putin is taking the lead" in opening contacts with Hamas
on behalf of the international community (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 10 and
13 February 2006). Denisov argued that Russia is playing a go-between
role with Hamas, just as it is doing with Iran. He made it clear that
Moscow does not regard Hamas as a terrorist organization but as a
legitimate player in Palestinian politics. Denisov stressed that Hamas
must nonetheless "abstain from terrorist activities..., recognize
Israel as a sovereign state, its neighbor, and political partner...,
and abandon its radical views in favor of a political settlement of the
conflict, together with the Middle East Quartet [which consists of the
United Nations, United States, European Union, and Russia] and
countries of the region, including Israel." PM

Reuters on 13 February quoted unnamed "Israeli political sources" in
Jerusalem as saying that the Foreign Ministry has instructed diplomats
"to show the Russians and others that there is no difference between
Hamas terrorism and Chechen terrorism." In Moscow, an "informed source"
told Interfax that Russian plans to sell two Mi-17 helicopters and 50
armored troop carriers to the Palestinian Authority are "on hold" until
the political situation there becomes clearer. PM

A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said in Moscow on 14 February that
Tehran has asked for bilateral talks on nuclear issues slated to begin
in the Russian capital on 16 February to be postponed until 20
February, RIA Novosti reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 13 February
2006). PM

Nikolai Bordyuzha, who is the secretary-general of the CIS Collective
Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan), said in Moscow on 13 February that
"cooperation with NATO is not a major priority or an end in itself for
us," Interfax reported. He added that such cooperation "is desirable,
but it is not so important to the CSTO, which is a self-sufficient
organization seeking cooperation with many international
organizations," such as the United Nations (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 11
January 2006). Referring to possible Uzbek membership in the CSTO,
Bordyuzha said that "the Uzbek president has not and could not have
made any statements on Uzbek accession to the CSTO." Bordyuzha added
that the Uzbek authorities will make that decision only after they have
studied what membership would entail and "understood the usefulness of
cooperation with the organization." Bordyuzha also said that any
military strike against Iran would pose "huge [negative] consequences"
for all concerned. PM

The Washington-based International Intellectual Property Alliance said
in a statement on 13 February that "Russia's copyright piracy problem
remains one of the world's most serious," mosnews.com and iipa.com
reported. The alliance of U.S. movie, music, and software companies
said that Russian piracy costs U.S. firms about $1.76 billion in lost
sales annually, compared to up to $35 billion from all sources and $2.4
billion from China. The statement noted that Russian pirates have "some
of the world's most open and notorious websites" for dealing in illegal
goods. The alliance wants the U.S. government to suspend trade benefits
and label Russia a "priority foreign country," which is a designation
reserved for states with the worst problems in protecting copyrights.
PM

Nursullah Dautov died in intensive care in the Kuvatov Hospital in Ufa,
the capital of the Republic of Bashkortostan, where he was brought on 9
February, two days after an alleged hazing incident, regnum.ru and
Interfax reported. Prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation.
Elsewhere, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that 53 servicemen
died last month as a result of crimes, accidents, or, in 14 cases,
suicide (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 8 and 9 February 2006). PM

The Emergency Situations Ministry announced on 14 February that a group
of experts will decide what to do with the eight-story Moscow building
of Pressa Publishers, which houses "Komsomolskaya pravda" and several
other papers and was hit by a fire the previous day, RIA Novosti
reported. Four people were injured in the blaze, and one woman is
reported missing. Mayor Yury Luzhkov called for rebuilding the
structure, much of which was badly damaged by fire and freezing water.
PM

Chief Mufti of Russia's Central Muslim Spiritual Directorate Talgat
Tadzhuddin said in Moscow on 14 February that Russian "Muslims'
protests [might] be even worse than these notorious rallies abroad over
the scandalous cartoons" against the Prophet Muhammad if gays and
lesbians go ahead with plans to hold a parade in the Russian capital in
May, mosnews.com reported. The mufti added that "the parade should not
be allowed, and if they still come out into the streets, then they
should be bashed.... All normal people are going to join [the bashing],
Muslims and Orthodox alike." PM

Aleksandr Fyodorov, who is a leading official of the Federal Drug
Control Service, said in Moscow on 13 February that his organization
wants life sentences for at least some drug dealers, RIA Novosti
reported. "Such a measure of punishment must be used in extraordinary
cases. It would help society protect itself from the threat posed by
narcotics through drug dealers." State Duma Deputy Yevgeny Roizman said
that the legislature is reviewing a draft bill that provides for such
penalties, including for those who sell drugs to adolescents and for
officials who face drug-related charges from abusing their position
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," 6 February 2006). He noted that "the Supreme
Court, the Prosecutor-General's Office, and the State Duma's Security
Committee have already endorsed the measure, but the government has not
yet done so." Fyodorov said the government has budgeted over $20
million to fight drug trafficking in 2006. PM

Seventeen convicted felons in Prison Camp No. 2 in Yekaterinburg cut
their veins recently to protest the rescheduling of their favorite
television program to a later hour, when convicts are not allowed to
watch television, mosnews.com reported. The program, called "The Zone,"
depicts life in a Russian prison camp and is reportedly based on true
stories. The protesters suspected that camp officials were lying about
the rescheduling of the program and simply trying to deprive the
convicts of their favorite show. The protest ended when prisoners were
shown the official NTV schedule. The authorities decided not to punish
the 17 felons. PM

The Maykop prosecutor's office and the Kuban office of the federal
service responsible for monitoring media compliance with legislation
are evaluating recent articles published in a newspaper representing
Adygeya's Slavic majority, according to kavkazweb.net on 14 February,
citing Kavkazsky uzel. At least one article published last year in
"Zakuban'e," the organ of the Union of Slavs of Adygeya, has been
assessed as "nationalistic," and as propagating chauvinism and
interethnic enmity. The Union of Slavs advocates the abolition of
Adygeya's status as a republic and subsuming its territory into the
surrounding Krasnodar Krai. The Union of Slavs is fielding an unknown
number of candidates in the 12 March election for a new republican
parliament; those candidates are included in the party list of the
United Industrial Party of Russia. LF

The opposition Musavat party, which last week formally quit the Azadliq
bloc established one year ago to participate in the 6 November
parliamentary elections (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 10 February 2006), will
join forces with the opposition group Yeni Siyaset (YeS) in parliament
and to participate in the repeat voting on 13 May in 10 constituencies
where the outcome of the 6 November vote was annulled, day.az reported
on 14 February, quoting YeS co-founder Eldar Namazov. Musavat has four
deputies in the 125-member legislature and YeS two; the minimum number
of deputies required to form a parliamentary faction is 20. LF

Ruslan Basirli, leader of the opposition youth organization Yeni Fikir
(New Idea), who was arrested six months ago on charges of collaborating
with Armenian intelligence to provoke unrest in Azerbaijan (see "RFE/RL
Caucasus Report," 15 August 2005), was transferred on 13 February from
his cell to the first-aid point of the Bailov pretrial-detention
facility, the online daily zerkalo.az reported on 14 February.
Basirli's lawyer, Elchin Gambarov, told the daily that Basirli has
suffered for several days from pains in his kidneys, and a medical
examination on 13 February revealed problems with his heart and liver
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," 9 February 2006). LF

Irakli Okruashvili told the Georgian parliament committees on defense
and security and international affairs on 13 February that militia
groups in the unrecognized Republic of South Ossetia have recently
purchased portable ground-to-air antiaircraft Strela missile systems
from the Russian military base in Akhalkalaki, southern Georgia,
Caucasus Press reported. It is not clear whether Okruashvili explained
how that weaponry was transported from southern Georgia to South
Ossetia. Ten days earlier, Okruashvili alleged that an Igla missile
apparently lost by South Ossetian militants and discovered by Georgian
police near the South Ossetian conflict zone was to be used in an
attempt to assassinate President Mikheil Saakashvili (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 6 February 2006).

On 12 February, Defense Minister Okruashvili told the independent
television channel Rustavi-2 that Georgia's parliament should demand
the withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers from the South Ossetian conflict
zone, a process he characterized as "irreversible," Caucasus Press
reported. At the same time, Okruashvili stressed that Georgia should
"set the rules of the game" for that withdrawal and on no account be
drawn into anticipated "provocations" by Russia. Okruashvili further
made a number of derogatory and possibly slanderous comments about
South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity. In comments to journalists on
13 February, Okruashvili predicted that the Georgian leadership will
restore its hegemony over South Ossetia by the beginning of 2007. LF

Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister Merab Antadze criticized on 13
February as politically motivated the Russian decision to bar 55
Georgian citizens from entering the Russian Federation over the
previous two days, Caucasus Press reported. Antadze said the Georgians
were not allowed access to consular officials. LF

Altynbek Sarsenbaev, a leading member of the For a Just Kazakhstan
opposition group, was found shot dead on the outskirts of Almaty on 13
February, Interfax-Kazakhstan and ferghana.ru reported. Almaty police
said that they discovered three bodies, including Sarsenbaev's, with
gunshot wounds on a roadside, "Kazakhstan Today" reported. Ferghana.ru
claimed that the three men had all been shot in the head
execution-style, but noted that that information has not been
officially confirmed. Kazakh police announced that Deputy Interior
Minister Kalmukhanbet Kasymov will head a special commission to
investigate the murder, "Kazakhstan Today" reported. President
Nursultan Nazarbaev has expressed his condolences to Sarsenbaev's
family, Kazinform reported. Sarsenbaev served twice as information
minister. Since 2003, he was active in the opposition parties Ak Zhol
and True Ak Zhol, as well as For a Just Kazakhstan. Sarsenbaev was a
member of Zharmakhan Tuyakbai's unsuccessful campaign in the December
2005 presidential election. A second opposition figure, Zamanbek
Nurkadilov, was found dead with two gunshot wounds three months ago;
the Kazakh authorities returned a verdict of suicide (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 14 and 30 November 2005). DK

Kyrgyzstan's parliament voted on 13 February to include the resignation
of speaker Omurbek Tekebaev on the legislature's agenda for 20
February, akipress.org reported. Fifty deputies voted in favor of the
motion. Deputy speakers Bolot Sherniyazov and Erkin Alymbekov also
tendered their resignations on 13 February, but deputies voted against
including them in the agenda. DK

In an address to parliament on 13 February, Tekebaev praised the work
of the legislature but harshly criticized both President Kurmanbek
Bakiev and Prime Minister Feliks Kulov, ferghana.ru reported. Calling
parliament the country's "most transparent branch of government,"
Tekebaev said that the legislature has "evoked the intense envy of
certain individuals, who have accused parliament of trying to assume
the role of head of state." The remark apparently referred to a 3
February address in which Bakiev criticized parliament for allegedly
exceeding its mandate (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 6 February 2006).
Tekebaev reminded Bakiev and Kulov that they decided in May to work as
a team (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 16 May 2005), but that "the participants
of the tandem have forgotten about their promises." Tekebaev said that
he submitted his resignation because the form of his recent comments
about Bakiev (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 9 February 2006) was "incorrect
[and] unworthy." He pointedly refused to apologize for the substance of
his remarks, in which he called Bakiev a "disgrace," "for virtually
everyone agrees with the content." In closing, Tekebaev stressed, "I
feel bad that since the March [2005] revolution no changes have taken
place in the mentality of officials." DK

Tajikistan's Supreme Court has suspended the sentence handed down by a
Dushanbe court in August 2005 to Mukhtor Boqizoda, the editor in chief
of the opposition newspaper "Nerui Sukhan," Asia Plus-Blitz reported on
13 February. Boqizoda was convicted of stealing electricity and
sentenced to two years of corrective labor, a verdict the Committee to
Protect Journalists described as "politically motivated" (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 26 and 30 August 2005). Boqizoda said that his legal
troubles have cost him nearly $30,000 and he plans to sue for
compensation. DK

Delegates from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India arrived in Ashgabat on
13 February for the ninth meeting of the steering committee for the
Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan natural-gas pipeline, turkmenistan.ru
reported. Mines and Industry Minister Mir Mohammad Sediq will represent
Afghanistan. Amanullah Jadoon, federal minister for petroleum and
natural resources, will head Pakistan's delegation, "Dawn" reported.
Dinsha J. Patel, minister of state for petroleum and natural gas, will
represent India, news.webindia123.com reported. The two-day meeting,
scheduled for 14-15 February, is the first ministerial-level session of
the steering committee to which India has been invited. NewsCentralAsia
reported that India may formally join the project as an official member
in the course of the session. The estimated construction cost of the
1,680-kilometer pipeline from Turkmenistan to the Pakistan-India border
is $3.3 billion, and it will have an annual throughput capacity of 33
billion cubic meters of gas, turkmenistan.ru reported. DK

Police in Lida, Hrodna Oblast, on 13 February detained associates of
united opposition presidential candidate Alyaksandr Milinkevich for
over five hours, Belapan reported. The car carrying Anatol Khotska,
head of Milinkevich's regional campaign headquarters; his deputy
Syarhey Malchyk; and Hrodna council deputy Syarhey Antusevich was
stopped at 7.30 p.m. and after a search was released at 1.40 a.m. the
next day. Police seized 1,200 copies of the newspaper "Narodnaya volya"
and photocopied several documents belonging to Antusevich, who is also
the leader of an independent trade union at a Hrodna-based company. The
same night police searched the apartment of Vadzim Saranchukou, deputy
head of Milinkevich's campaign headquarters in Hrodna, accusing him of
writing graffiti in Vaukavysk on 5 February denigrating President
Alyaksandr Lukashenka. AM

A district court in Masty, Hrodna Oblast, has fined Yauhen Skrabutan
290,000 Belarusian rubles ($135) for distributing wallet-sized
calendars with a portrait of opposition candidate Milinkevich, Belapan
reported on 13 February. Police detained Skrabutan on 12 January and
found 5,000 of the calendars on him. The court found him guilty of
illegal electioneering and distributing unlicensed materials.
Skrabutan, who described the ruling as "completely illegal," intends to
appeal the fine. AM

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov said on 11 February that the
government will propose to the EU and other foreign investors that they
take part in the construction of new gas pipelines in Ukraine, Interfax
reported on 13 February. Yekhanurov also said that pipelines will be
subsequently privatized. Ukraine is currently building a 240-kilometer
section of the Bohorodchany-Uzhgorod pipeline, which is part of
Novopskov (Russia)-Uzhgorod pipeline. The expected annual capacity of
this pipeline, which will cost around $560 million, is 19 billion cubic
meters. The tender to select the main contractor for the project is set
for 31 March. AM

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko promised on 11 February to set up
a national energy-saving agency and outlined a program to improve
energy efficiency in Ukraine, Interfax reported on 13 February. The
proposed program includes cutting energy consumption by half,
diversifying energy supplies, and using local energy resources.
Yushchenko said that "it's time to introduce new energy technologies
and replace outdated equipment. The government will support
entrepreneurs' intentions to invest in energy efficiency by cutting
taxes and tariffs." AM

Southeastern Europe

[28] EU SAYS IT WILL ADVISE, NOT IMPOSE SOLUTION ON MONTENEGRIN
INDEPENDENCE REFERENDUM

European Union envoy Miroslav Ljacak said on 13 February that Brussels
does not intend to impose a solution regarding Montenegro's
independence referendum, FoNet and B92 reported the same day. Ljacak
said, however, that he will convey to the Montenegrin government and
opposition the EU's opinion on the type of majority necessary in the
proposed referendum (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 13 February 2006). "I
expect that I will tell them at those meetings what the EU thinks about
the majority question, the schedule for the referendum, and the
questions posed by the referendum," Ljacak said. "It is not Brussels'
intention to impose anything. The decision must be reached within
Montenegro," he added. Montenegrin parliamentary speaker Ranko
Krivokapic, meanwhile, has scheduled a special session of parliament on
25 February to debate the referendum law. BW

The Contact Group's unanimous position is that Kosova's status can only
be reached through direct negotiations between Belgrade and Prishtina
according to internationally set guidelines, Beta and B92 reported on
13 February, citing unidentified officials. Comments attributed to
British Foreign Office Political Director John Sawers in the media
suggesting that the Contact Group has already decided on independence
drew fierce criticism from Serbian politicians (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
7 and 8 February 2006). "The solution must be acceptable for the people
of Kosovo," an unidentified official from the Contact Group said,
according to B92. Regarding Sawers' alleged statements, the official
said that "everyone has a right to their own opinions on the matter,"
but that such a conclusion was not reached at the Contact Group's last
meeting on 31 January. The Contact Group comprises the United States,
United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, and Russia. BW

Florence Hartmann, the spokeswoman for Carla Del Ponte, the chief
prosecutor for the Hague-based war crimes tribunal, said on 13 February
that Ratko Mladic is still in Serbia, Beta, FoNet and B92 reported the
same day. "Mladic is under the protection of people whose duty is to
arrest him," Hartmann said, adding that "every piece of information
that we gave the authorities in Serbia in relation to Mladic was not
just correct, but also very precise." Hartmann said in January that
Mladic is hiding in Serbia (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 January 2006). BW

Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina on 13 February banned poultry imports
from Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, and Slovenia after bird flu was detected
in those countries, international news agencies reported the same day.
Bosnian authorities also banned the hunting of wild birds and warned
farmers to protect their poultry from contact with wild birds, dpa
reported. Authorities in Slovenia, meanwhile, declared their country a
bird-flu "risk zone" on 13 February, as they await tests on a dead swan
to see if it was infected with the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus, AP
reported the same day. The dead swan, infected with the H5 substrain of
the virus, was discovered on 12 February in Maribor, near the Austrian
border. Tests for the H5N1 strain are being conducted at a EU
laboratory in the United Kingdom. Slovenian authorities have culled 170
chickens and 16 other birds at a farm in Sveti Primoz Nad Muto, where
the veterinarian who found the swan worked. BW

Four Albanian human rights groups announced on 13 February that they
will sue the government over planned cuts in public-sector jobs,
serbianna.com reported the same day. As part of an anticorruption
campaign, Prime Minister Sali Berisha's government plans to cut more
than 2,000 public-sector jobs and reduce the number of ministries in
his cabinet from 18 to 14. The Albanian Helsinki Committee, Albanian
Human Rights Group, Center of Parliamentary Studies, and the country's
ombudsman are challenging the move in Albania's Constitutional Court.
"The fight against corruption and conflict of interests cannot be
legitimatised by illegal acts," the groups said in a joint statement.
"These decisions violate employees' constitutional rights." BW

The ruling Party of Moldovan Communists (PCM) submitted a bill on 13
February that grants lifelong immunity to the president for acts
committed while in office, ITAR-TASS reported the same day. "The
initiative necessitates changes to the law on the president and
envisages immunity only for actions carried out while in office," Vadim
Mishin, one of the bill's authors, told reporters. "In a democratic and
rule-of-law state, it is quite natural for those who hold the office of
president to have immunity because this job presupposes a certain
amount of risk." Mishin added that, if passed, the new rules will apply
"not only to incumbent head of state Vladimir Voronin but also to all
presidents after him." BW

Four U.S. soldiers were killed when a suspected improvised explosive
device struck their vehicle in Deh Rahwod, Oruzgan Province, on 13
February, the American Forces Information Service reported. The four
were on patrol with Afghan National Army (ANA) forces at the time of
the attack. Shortly after the explosion, the patrol was attacked by
unknown assailants, prompting a U.S. air assault. Oruzgan security
commander Rozi Khan said that six members of the neo-Taliban were
killed in the clash, Peshawar-based Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) reported
on 13 February. Mohammad Hanif, speaking for the neo-Taliban, told AIP
that nine U.S. solders were killed in the incident and two of their
vehicles were destroyed. The neo-Taliban often exaggerate their claims.
Since the ousting the Taliban regime from Afghanistan in late 2001, a
total of 214 U.S. service members have died in that country, "The
Washington Post" reported on 13 February. AT

One ANA soldier was killed and five others were injured when a
remote-controlled bomb exploded as their patrol vehicle passed in
Chawki District of Konar Province on 13 February, international news
agencies reported. Mullah Abdul Rahman, identifying himself as the
commander of the Bara bin Malik Front, told AIP on 13 February that his
forces destroyed an ANA vehicle with a remote-controlled bomb in Konar,
killing "five soldiers" and injuring one. The background and
affiliation of the Bara bin Malik Front remains vague. AT

Same'a Sadat, a member of the Afghan National Assembly from Parwan
Province, was attacked by unknown assailants in her home province on 13
February, RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan reported. Sadat who also
serves as the honorary president of Parwan's education department, told
RFE/RL that a gunman jumped from the back of a store and shot at her
vehicle. Sadat's bodyguard was injured in the attack, but she escaped
unharmed. Sadat blamed groups who do not want peace and stability to
prevail in Afghanistan for the attack. Parwan Governor Abdul Jabar
Taqwa told RFE/RL that people who were in the vicinity of the attack
have been detained for questioning and an investigation has been
ordered. AT

In a press release issued in Kabul on 13 February, NAI, an Afghan NGO
working in support of open media, condemned attacks on two journalists
in the city of Herat. According to NAI, Reza Shayr Mohammadi, a
journalist working for the privately owned Tolu Television, was
physically abused by the police on 10 February while covering the
sectarian riots in Herat (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 10 and 13 February
2006). Ehsan Sarwaryar, a freelance journalist from Herat, was also
reportedly beaten by authorities in Herat. AT

Unidentified people blew up a television transmitter and a generator in
Nangarhar Province on 11 February, AIP reported. The transmitters were
used by the Nangarhar Television Department, which broadcasts to five
districts in the province and is supported by financial assistance from
India. An unidentified engineer working for the television station told
AIP that the generator alone cost around $20,000. AT

Visiting International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) officials removed
their seals from equipment at the Natanz nuclear facility, Fars News
Agency reported on 13 February. Later that day an anonymous "informed
source" told Fars that the injection of uranium hexafluoride into some
of the centrifuges at the Natanz facility has begun. The news agency
reported that 164 centrifuges were under seal and eventually they all
will be put to use. BS

Iranian government spokesman Gholam-Hussein Elham announced on 13
February that Tehran-Moscow talks on the possibility of Iranian
uranium-enrichment activities taking place on Russian soil are on hold,
Radio Farda reported. Representatives from the two countries were
scheduled to meet on 16 February, and they met in Moscow in
late-January. "The question of negotiations is still open and the time
of the negotiations is another issue," Elham explained. "These will
take place in view of the new circumstances that were created and the
[Iranian] government's determination to seriously pursue a peaceful
[uranium-] enrichment program inside the country. We believe that the
[Russian] plan needs to be adjusted according to the Islamic Republic's
policies and we are pursuing this aspect." Elham added that Iran's
decision on continuing adherence to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty
(NPT) will reflect Europe's behavior. He said Iran has acted within the
NPT framework and has even surpassed requirements in an effort to
eliminate any ambiguities, state radio reported. Iran will remain
committed to the NPT if Europe, the IAEA, and other entities recognize
Iran's right to have access to nuclear technology, Elham continued. BS

During a 12 February meeting in Lebanon's Shouf Mountains,
parliamentarian Walid Jumblatt, leader of the Druze sect and the
Progressive Socialist Party, repeated his earlier charges that Iran and
Syria are working with Hizballah to dominate his country, the Lebanese
National News Agency reported (see "RFE/RL Iran Report," 3 May 2005 and
23 January 2006). Jumblatt contrasted a 1962 Lebanese army map that
shows the Shabaa Farms are outside Lebanon's borders with a 2001 map
provided by the Syrian-allied former director-general of general
security, Major General Jamil al-Sayyid, which shows the farms within
Lebanese territory. Hizballah cites the alleged Israeli occupation of
the Shabaa Farms as a pretext for retaining its arms and for continuing
operations against Israel. Jumblatt continued that this new map and the
principle of the liberation of the Shabaa Farms through resistance are
an obstacle to building Lebanon. "This map permits an armed force
[Hizballah] to control the south and to use it indefinitely, through
the Lebanese-Syrian-Iranian alliance, for the benefit of the [Syrian]
regime and the Islamic Republic of Iran, while Lebanon remains a
captive," Jumblatt said. Use of the newer map means that "Lebanon's
destiny and independence remain in limbo for many years to come,"
Jumblatt said, adding that Lebanon risks remaining "a hostage of the
avarice of the Syrian regime and of the Islamic Republic of Iran." BS

Lebanese Labor Minister Trad Hamadeh said in Tehran on 13 February that
he thanks Iran for supporting his country and its resistance against
what IRNA termed "Zionist threats and aggression." He added, "Iran has
always been a forerunner in supporting the Palestinian nation to resist
Israel's systematic killing of Palestinians." He went on to criticize
those who do not approve of the Iran-Syria coalition. Hamadeh also said
that military threats against Iran will be defeated by the will of the
Iranian people, IRNA reported. BS

The 14 February session of the Al-Dujayl trial got off to a chaotic
start but quickly settled into routine proceedings, RFE/RL's Radio Free
Iraq reported. Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein shouted slogans as
he entered the courtroom, and was overheard saying, "We have been on a
hunger strike for three days to protest the way they brought us to
court." Al-Arabiyah television reported on 12 February that Hussein was
planning to begin a hunger strike on 13 February, but then cited one of
his lawyers as saying that the rumors of a hunger strike were false.
The court session heard from two witnesses, both former members of the
intelligence apparatus. One official's identity was hidden, while the
other appeared openly in court. The trial will resume on 28 February.
KR

An Iraqi police colonel was assassinated on 13 February in the
Al-Dawrah district of Baghdad, Al-Sharqiyah television reported on 14
February. An unidentified Interior Ministry source told Al-Sharqiyah
that Colonel Mahdi al-Mutlaq, Baghdad police director of training, was
killed on a street in his neighborhood by gunmen. Meanwhile, two police
commandos were wounded on 14 February in Al-Dawrah when an explosive
charge detonated near their passing police vehicle. A source from the
Defense Ministry said that Iraqi security forces discovered four
unidentified men who had been shot at close range; two of the bodies
were found in the Al-Shu'lah area of northern Baghdad, one was found in
Kasra wa Atash in eastern Baghdad, and the fourth was found in the
Al-Sha'b area of northeast Baghdad, Al-Sharqiyah reported on 14
February. Meanwhile, gunmen in Balad, some 100 kilometers north of
Baghdad, reportedly opened fire on a family working their land, killing
11, including tribal leader Sheikh Hasan al-Sarhan, dpa reported. Also,
four civilians were wounded in central Baghdad when an explosive device
targeting a police patrol went off in front of the Technical
University. KR

A new videotape showing two German engineers abducted in Iraq last
month was aired on Al-Arabiyah television on 13 February. The
abductors, identified as Ansar Al-Tawhid wa Al-Sunnah (Supporters of
Monotheism and the Prophet's Tradition), issued a final warning to the
German government in the video, saying they will kill the hostages
unless the German government and German companies cease all relations
with Iraq, Al-Arabiyah reported. Al-Arabiyah showed the hostages
kneeling on the ground with their hands tied behind their backs; no
audio was broadcast from the video. German Foreign Minister
Frank-Walter Steinmeier called the video "shocking evidence of human
humiliation," ddp reported on 13 February. He said the German
government is doing everything it can to save the lives of the
hostages. KR

Iraq was the most dangerous place for journalists in 2005, according to
a 14 February report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). The
organization said in its annual report, "Attacks on the Press," that
Iraq has also become the deadliest conflict for the media in CPJ's
24-year history. Sixty journalists and 22 media support staff have been
killed on duty in Iraq since the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom in
March 2003. In 2005, 22 journalists and three media workers were killed
in action. The report said most of those killed were Iraqis. "Insurgent
attacks remained the leading cause of media deaths," the report noted.
"In several cases, armed groups hunted down and murdered journalists."
Meanwhile, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said in a
13 February press release that delegates to an 11 February conference
of Iraqi journalists in Egypt drafted a charter of rights for
journalists in Iraq. IFJ General Secretary Aidan White said among the
issues discussed at the conference was the need to "create safe and
secure working conditions and to end the killings of journalists and
media staff" in Iraq. KR

British authorities have arrested a "serving soldier" in connection
with the allegations of abuse that surfaced following the release of a
videotape depicting British soldiers beating Iraqi teenagers, the
Ministry of Defense announced in a 13 February press release. The
statement said investigations are ongoing to identify all military
personnel in the video. The statement reprinted 11 February remarks by
Adjutant General Chief of Staff Brigadier Martin Rutledge, in which he
said: "The images in this video amount to very serious allegations....
We condemn all acts of abuse and brutality and always treat any
allegations of wrongdoing by our personnel extremely seriously." KR

Georgia's parliament on 15 February will almost certainly vote to
demand the swift withdrawal of the Russian peacekeeping force deployed
in the South Ossetia conflict zone. But the Georgian government is not
obligated to act on that demand, and observers question whether it is
legally empowered to do so unilaterally. A parliament ultimatum would
also exacerbate the already tense relations between Tbilisi and Moscow
and would constitute clear defiance of the United States, whose
ambassador to the OSCE, Julie Finley, called on both sides on 9
February to demonstrate "caution." Finley noted that a pullout by
peacekeepers before an alternative force is available to take over
their duties could negatively impact on the situation in South
Ossetia.

On 13 February, Georgian Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili presented
to parliament a new proposal intended to prevent a further exacerbation
of tensions.

On 11 October, three weeks after Tskhinvali, capital of the
unrecognized Republic of the South Ossetia, was subjected to mortar
fire from a Georgian-populated village, the Georgian parliament set a
deadline of 10 February for the Russian peacekeeping force deployed in
the South Ossetian conflict zone to demonstrate its effectiveness and
impartiality. An analogous deadline of 1 July was set for the Russian
peacekeepers that have been deployed under the CIS aegis in Abkhazia
since mid-1994.

The Georgian parliament accused the Russian peacekeeping forces in both
conflict zones of failing to comply with their respective mandates and
of turning a blind eye to abductions, attacks on local civilians,
smuggling, illicit arms sales, and other crimes. In the case of South
Ossetia, the resolution further accused Moscow of providing military
assistance to the breakaway republic's leadership.

The resolution set deadlines of 10 February 2006 and 1 July 2006,
respectively, for the Russian peacekeepers deployed in the South
Ossetian and Abkhaz conflict zones to demonstrate they are complying
with the terms of their respective mandates and that their continued
presence in the conflict zones is essential. In the event that they
fail to do so to deputies' satisfaction, the Georgian parliament will
insist on their withdrawal within two weeks and their replacement by an
international peacekeeping force.

In recent days, Georgian politicians -- including parliament speaker
Nino Burdjanadze -- informally sounded out Ukraine and Latvia, both
Georgian allies, concerning the possibility that they might contribute
troops to an international peacekeeping force. While expressing
diplomatic support for Georgia, neither country has responded with a
firm offer of troops.

The Georgian parliament is accordingly set to vote on 15 February on
whether to issue a formal demand for the peacekeepers' withdrawal from
South Ossetia. As with most aspects of Georgian-Russian relations, the
Georgian parliament has for the past decade taken a more aggressive and
militant stance than has the executive. Few observers either in Tbilisi
or abroad doubt that parliamentarians will indeed insist on the
peacekeepers' withdrawal. If they do, they risk fuelling even further
the tensions between Tbilisi and Moscow that have recently been
exacerbated by the cutoff of Russian gas supplies last month due to
sabotage of the main Russia-Georgia pipeline. Such a demand would also
pit the Georgian parliament against at least the more moderate members
of the executive branch.

Givi Targamadze, who heads the parliament's Defense and Security
Committee, told Caucasus Press on 6 February that Georgia will resort
to force if necessary to expedite the peacekeepers' withdrawal. By
contrast, Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli said the Georgian
government does not regard the peacekeepers' withdrawal as an end in
itself, while Minister for Conflict Resolution Giorgi Khaindrava was
quoted by "Nezavisimaya gazeta" on 7 February as saying "there are
civilized ways of seeking to solve problems, and we do not intend to
diverge from them one iota. There is the peacekeepers' mandate and
international law, and all our activities will be subordinated to that
law. All issues connected with the presence of Russian peacekeepers in
Georgia will be addressed by the Georgian president and parliament in
accordance with international law."

Any resolution by parliament calling for the Russian contingent's
departure is not binding on the Georgian government. And Khaindrava's
statement implies the executive would seek ways of expediting the
Russian withdrawal that would not risk a new crisis in relations with
Moscow. But if the "hawks" within the executive branch -- in particular
Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili and Interior Minister Vano
Merabishvili, both of whom were born in South Ossetia -- choose to
throw their weight behind the parliament, they would present President
Mikheil Saakashvili with an unenviable choice. He could back them and
the legislature at the risk of challenging Washington, which has urged
caution, or scramble to reconcile the positions of all three parties.
Saakashvili has not yet openly formulated his position on the upcoming
vote, but is likely to touch upon the issue during his annual televised
address to the country on 14 February.

As noted above, Washington is eager to avoid a new crisis in
Georgian-Russian relations. Addressing the OSCE's Permanent Council in
Vienna on 9 February, Georgian Foreign Minister Bezhuashvili called for
the fulfillment of earlier agreements by the two sides, including those
on demilitarization. He advocated establishing a joint Georgian-South
Ossetian police force to maintain order in the conflict zone once the
demilitarization process is complete: a proposal that suggested the
Georgian government is treating the parliament demand for the Russian
peacekeepers' withdrawal as a fait accompli.

But the U.S. permanent representative to the OSCE, Ambassador Julie
Finley, implicitly rejected that approach, reasoning that a pullout of
the Russian peacekeepers before an alternative force is formed to
replace them could further destabilize the situation. Finley called on
Georgia to contribute its full complement of forces to maintain the
proper balance within the Joint Peace-Keeping Force, which includes
Georgian, Russian and Ossetian contingents, "in coordination with
existing mechanisms, in full transparency, and in accordance with
previous agreements," and on both sides to moderate their militant
rhetoric.

In a clear attempt to dissuade parliamentarians from demanding the
Russian peacekeepers' withdrawal, Bezhuashvili told them on 13 February
that at the meeting scheduled to take place in Vienna on 20-21 February
of the Joint Control Commission tasked with monitoring the situation in
the South Ossetia conflict zone, Georgia will unveil a detailed
demilitarization proposal that would necessitate the continued presence
in the conflict zone of the Joint Peacekeeping Force (JPKF), comprising
Georgian and Ossetian contingents as well as Russian peacekeepers.
Bezhuashvili further advocated continuing "consultations and
negotiations" with Russia, Caucasus Press reported.

That approach, if parliament approves it, would not simply buy time for
the Georgian leadership. It would obviate the need to embark on a
course of action whose legality may be questionable, insofar as it is
by no means clear whether Tbilisi is legally empowered to demand
unilaterally the withdrawal of the Russian peacekeeping force from
South Ossetia. That force was first deployed, as part of a JPKF, on the
basis of an agreement signed in June 1992 by the then Russian and
Georgian heads of state, Boris Yeltsin and Eduard Shevardnadze, that
established the Joint Control Commission, which comprises Russian,
Georgian, South Ossetian and North Ossetian, and OSCE representatives.

JPKF commander Major General Marat Kulakhmetov and Konstantin
Kosachyov, who chairs the Russian State Duma's Foreign Affairs
Committee, were quoted on 6 and 7 February by Interfax and RIA Novosti,
respectively, as arguing that that all four sides must approve the
withdrawal of the Russian peacekeeping force. By contrast, Georgian
Minister for Conflict Resolution Khaindrava was quoted by Caucasus
Press on 7 February as saying the Russian and Georgian presidents
should jointly make any decision on pulling out the Russian
peacekeeping contingent.